Youth Of The CopyNinja
by UltimateComics
Summary: The story about Kakashi's time in his first squad.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **Hi there! This is my first Naruto story. I've decided to write it about Kakashi's time in his first squad with Obito and Rin. I was a little unsure about it when I first began writing, but I have come to really like writing on this story. So I hope you'll enjoy reading it. Reviews would be very appreciated.

My whole body was aching like never before. It felt as if my entire body was going to fall apart. It wasn't the well-known feeling of a wound. That yearning feeling which made you grind your teeth. This was very different. I might have wanted to grind my teeth, but I simply didn't have the energy to do it.

I felt like… Well, actually I didn't really feel anything. But still, pain managed to emerge from everywhere.

But this was necessary. I had to become stronger. I tried to channel more chakra to my index finger, which was placed on the surface of a huge cliff, preventing me from falling to my death, but it was hopeless. I finally realized my problem. I had no more chakra left. It was probably because of the enormous boulder, which I carried with my other index finger. That and the six hours of intense training, prior to this little test, of course.

Suddenly, my head started to feel fuzzy. Then an indescribable pain to chest followed.

I had never been fearing for my health (or life for any of that matter), before. Obito claimed that it was due to my arrogance. Now however, a sudden feeling of unease appeared in my head. I was falling towards the ground (which was a long way down from here), and I had somehow managed to get beneath the boulder. My instincts told me to escape this dangerous situation, but my body simply wouldn't react.

Without my approval, my eyes closed. Seconds, or maybe hours later, I heard a deafening cracking sound. I also felt an arm gripping around my waist.

I somehow managed to open my eyes. Minato-sensei was soaring mid-air, his left hand carrying me and his right hand raised towards the remains of my boulder. The boulder had been turned to small insignificant stones… or maybe even sand.

Not looking exhausted at all, he landed on the ground and let go of me.

"I told you Kakashi", he said, not smiling but not looking angry either.

"Don't use up all of your chakra. It will kill you. Must you seek your limitations all the time?" he continued, starting to annoy me.

"I wasn't aware of the status of my chakra", I excused myself.

"Well you are lucky to live Kakashi", Minato-sensei said.

"I know. Thank you for saving me", I said bowing my head in acceptance.

"I'm not talking about the fall. I'm talking about depleting your chakra to none", he said with a serious look appearing on his face.

I nodded in understanding.

"Never do that again. At least not while having done so much training before this", Minato-sensei said and his serious expression now turned friendly. He reached for my hand and helped me up. I could swear that I saw another expression on his face. Was it admiration?

Minato-sensei ordered me to stay in bed for the entire next day. This didn't suit me very well, but it did provide me with a chance to read Make Out Tactics yet again. Minato had told me not to read something like that, but I insisted on its qualities.

Rin brought me tea and she, too, seemed to disgust my fondness of the series. She seemed a little angry, or maybe… jealous?

I accidentally made her angry, when she caught me reading the book while she talked. She stormed out the door. I tried to get out of the bed, to give her an apology, but I couldn't stand. I decided that there was nothing more for me to do, and returned to my reading.

After finishing the book again, I got quite bored. It made me wish that I hadn't hurt Rin's feelings. I would have appreciated a little company.

I hoped that Obito would drop by. A feeling I had never expected to appear. Obito and I were rivals. At least Obito considered us like that, I just found him annoying. He was always trying to lesson me in his values, and it didn't take long before it tired me out.

Thinking about this, I was kind of grateful for his not turning up. I fell asleep and when I woke up it was morning.

I was supposed to meet Minato-sensei at the training grounds. He told me that he had something important to tell us.

I got dressed and raced through the town. My body was a little sore but I was nearly back to my normal standards.

Rin was there when I showed up. She was standing alone at the deserted field. She folded her arms tipped her nose to the sky, as I greeted her.

She was still mad. Typical girls, I thought. I considered pulling forward Make Out Tactics, but figured that this would make a definite end to our friendship.

Minato-sensei showed up after a few minutes. I was grateful, as this neutralized the awkward atmosphere. Obito still hadn't showed up.

As Obito finally showed up, Minato-sensei began talking.

"Late again Obito… Well, no harm done", Minato-sensei said and smiled.

"Anyway, I have an important announcement to make. I'm assigning all of you to the Chunin-exams", Minato-sensei said and seemed to study our reactions with great concentration. I don't know what the others were thinking. Personally, I was happy to get it over with.

I was pretty sure that I had already passed Chunin level, so this would be a walk in the park. I glanced at Obito. He looked a little pale.

"That's amazing! Let's go!" Obito said, but it was obvious that he was afraid.

Rin, to my surprise, didn't look scared. She seemed to be determined not to show any signs of fear.

"About time", I said. Obito looked at me with his usual annoyed glance.

We trained for a couple of hours. Then Minato-sensei remembered some forgotten information.

"Oh, and by the way, the exams start tomorrow morning", Minato-sensei said and smiled.

"What?" Rin, Obito and I yelled simultaneously. I wasn't really worried, but I was still surprised at the lack of time. That, and the fact that my powers weren't completely restored, summoned a vague feeling of unease. I wanted to show everyone how strong I was, and I didn't want to have to hold back.

Rin refused to pair with me at training. I knew she was upset, but this was too much. Why do girls have to make such a big deal out of everything? Couldn't Rin just say something, instead of just ignoring me? She paired up with Obito, and that left Minato-sensei with me.

"What did you do to her?" Minato-sensei asked with a whisper.

"I was just reading my book and then she freaked out", I said, denying my guilt.

"I told you not to read that. Could you at least have kept it away while she was there? You know she likes you", Minato-sensei said in an accusing tone.

"I don't see how that's my responsibility", I said coldly.

"You fool. Friends are the most important thing you will ever have", Minato-sensei said, as he moved quickly to my back, preparing to strike.

"The only thing important to me is being a ninja and completing my mission", I said, performing a substitution-jutsu. I was now hiding in a tree while my clone was fighting Minato-sensei. He seemed to buy it as he attacked the clone on the ground.

My clone turned to smoke, and I was surprised to see Minato-sensei turn into smoke too. I realized what was going on and quickly tried to grab a kunai but it was too late. I could feel both of my wrists being caught from behind me, and I was thrown down from the tree.

"Kakashi…", Minato-sensei said, apparently unable to finish his sentence.

He leaped to Obito and Rin, and started talking to them about something related to the Chunin-exams.

I started to think about what Minato-sensei had said. If my father's death had taught me anything it was the importance of a ninja's duty. I wasn't going to make the same mistake my father made. Minato-sensei had no idea what he was talking about.

I was really annoyed to find myself missing the company of Rin. Obito had decided to sympathize with Rin, and he ignored me too. Anyway, it didn't matter at all. I didn't need them. All I needed was to train for the Chunin-exams.

Minato-sensei had invited all of us for dinner at Ichiraku's. I decided to stay and train some more.

When it was near six o'clock, which was the time set for the dinner, Rin approached me at the field.

"Kakashi?" she asked with a low voice.

"So, we're ignoring me anymore?" I said, arrogance dominating my voice.

Rin looked at me with anger. I could see tears appearing in her eyes.

"I only got mad because I like you, don't you understand that?" Rin said. Her voice was at first angry, but it broke mid-sentence. Now it was more like a whisper. I hadn't paused my punches at the tree in front of me. This, however, made me hesitate.

"Rin… I like you, but I don't need friends or girlfriends. I need to become a strong ninja, and love and friendship will not be important", I said.

The tears now ran down Rin's cheeks. I could see that she was speechless. She didn't know what to say. She suddenly stopped crying and took a deep breath. This surprised me as I had expected her to make a scene out of this situation.

"You're wrong", she said, in a monotone voice. There was nothing indicating her feelings.

"You're father did the right thing when he…" Rin began, but I interrupted her.

"Don't. My father lost his focus because of love and friendship. It clouded his judgment", I said, finally turning around to face Rin.

"So this is what it's all about. You're afraid of making friends because you think it will prevent you from fulfilling you're dream of becoming a ninja", she said. Her expression turned sympathetic. She walked the last couple of steps towards me. When she reached me, she slowly raised a hand and put on my shoulder. She looked me in the eyes and I could sense she tried to read more of my feelings. I didn't like this. She was too good at it.

"Stop pitying me", I said and pulled back my shoulder.

"Kakashi, you can't live without friendship", Rin said. She looked sad. I didn't like to see her sad, but I preferred it over pity.

"Well, if I change my mind, I promise you will be my first friend", I said and looked at Rin.

She still looked sad but couldn't help smiling. She shortened the distance between us. She folded her arms around me.

"Don't…", I objected, but gave in, letting her embrace me. She didn't seem to mind my not hugging her back.

"You have to hurry. You're late for Ichiraku's", I said, in an effort to make her leave. I didn't mind her being here. Actually it was the opposite, which was bothering me. I suddenly felt close to her. I found myself fighting the urge to hug her. It made me feel uncomfortable.

"You aren't coming?" Rin asked, disappointment in her tone.

"No. Enjoy your meal", I said, putting an end to the embracement", I turned around to continue my training.

I expected Rin to leave, and I was surprised to feel a hand grabbing my elbow.

"Stop being such a cool idiot", Rin said and laughed. She pulled me away from the tree.

I didn't know what to say, and just laughed with her. I unwillingly followed and let Rin hold my hand on the way to the others.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Hi! This is the second chapter of the story. I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I've been so busy these last couple of weeks. I hope you'll enjoy reading the story and I will try to write a little faster as the story progresses. Thanks for taking your time to read my story!

What had I been thinking? I had let myself forget about what mattered and get all caught up in friendship. This was exactly what I had promised myself wouldn't happen. Was I destined to make the same mistake my father had made?

I had to forget about this. It was ruining my focus. And the Chunin-exams started today! I quickly got dressed and ran to the appointed destination.

There were tons of people standing around the building. I supposed they were all going to the Chunin-exams.

Obito and Rin were already standing there and they had now spotted me.

"Kakashi! Over here", they shouted, and their lack of coolness drew a couple of laughs.

My fists were shaking as I walked to them. They were the ones ruining my concentration with their friendship-talk. And now they were making fools of themselves. I hadn't even spoken a word with them and already I was furious.

"Kakashi", Rin said and clung her arms around me.

"Hi Kakashi", Obito said. It was clear that he was jealous.

"Stop that", I said to Rin, as I removed her arms, not exactly gently. I briefly closed my eyes, hoping that I was able to wish myself away from here.

"So, back to that again, huh?" Rin said with a low voice, as she looked disappointed to the ground.

What had she expected? That she was my girlfriend now or something? I thought I told her clearly that I couldn't oblige to such things.

A deadly silence hung around us for the rest of the waiting. Minato-sensei came to wish us luck and as he sensed the bad mood he looked at me with accusing eyes.

The first exam was about to begin. It turned out to be a written test. It consisted of ten questions. Nine of them being revealed from the start, and the tenth being revealed at the end of the test. All contestants started out with a total amount of ten points and for every question you answered incorrectly, a point was taken from you. I quickly realized what this test was about. The questions were quite hard and when the observing Jounin informed us that two points would be taken from you if you were caught cheating and that you would be thrown out after being caught in cheating three times it became obvious. The point of this test was to steal the answers from others.

I would probably be able to cheat, but I knew the answers to the questions and decided that it was easier to just answer them.

The problem now lured behind another thing the Jounin had said. It was a team effort and if one of your teammates failed, all of you failed.

Rin would probably be able to answer the questions, but what about Obito? I had to find a way to get the answers to him.

We were lucky. The person sitting between Obito and Rin got thrown out half way through the test. Now Obito would be able to see Rin's paper. It seemed to work and I was pretty confident that this test was going to be fine.

The time passed and the Jounin started to speak.

"Before the tenth question is revealed, you have to make a decision. If you choose to stay and get the question, should you then get it wrong you will forever be unable to become a Chunin. If, however, you choose to leave now, you can return next year and try again", the Jounin said.

This was so obvious. A test within the test. There was no tenth question. This was the question.

Do you have the courage to continue, at the possible cost of your dreams? I leaned back and relaxed until the Jounin continued his speech.

"This a decision to be made on your own. If you choose to continue and your teammates choose to leave, it will be accepted and vice versa", the Jounin said. Maybe I could get rid of my teammates like this. No! How could I be this stupid?

This was another test. You wouldn't be able to take the test alone. If one decided to leave, the others would be disqualified too.

This was not good. I was certain that Rin and Obito would doubt themselves and if they decided to leave, this would be the end for me too. I had no chance to communicate with them. Of course not, otherwise this test would be pointless.

This situation was painful. I could do nothing, but to hope that the others understood this test.

I hid my face in my hands. The time was now up, and I removed my hands, unveiling the room to my eyes.

Compared to before, the room almost looked deserted. Apparently, the decision had been too hard for most of the Genin.

My eyes continued to search for the only two people who mattered, Rin and Obito. I was equally surprised and relieved to see my teammates staring at me from up front. I had been certain that the pressure was too much for them. My hopes slowly started to rebuild themselves.

Rin smiled insecurely at me, I was sure that she had gotten the questions right, but her lack of confidence made her think otherwise. Obito produced a huge smile in an effort to look cool and confident but the nerves were clearly evident behind the façade.

"All right kids. Here's the last question", the Jounin said, building up tension.

"Are you ready to advance to the second test?" He said, and all the Genin looked confused. Were they supposed to answer or not? I leaned back and a smile curved on my lips. This guy was hilarious. Most of the Genin were now literally shaking with tension. Tension caused by fear of the non-existing tenth question

"Well, I hope you are… 'Cause you've all passed the first test!" the Jounin announced to even greater confusion.

It was clear that most of the Genin thought that this was merely a joke. The nervous expressions on their faces hadn't quite dissolved.

"By now I assume that you all have understood what this test was about. The first part of the test was simple, if you don't have the information required, steal it from the most reliable source. Chunin who already know the answers have been placed all around to insure the presence of sources", the Jounin performed a barely visible signal with his right hand and several of the Genin, including the one sitting at my right, stood.

It wasn't a surprise to me that these Chunin were present. The test had to be fair for everyone, so the Chunin had been placed in a pattern, which made sure that everyone had exactly the same length between a Chunin and oneself.

"The second part of the test was a little more complex. Naturally, a tenth question has never existed… Or you might say that the question was merely given to you earlier than expected. I asked you if you wished to stay and continue the test with the risk of losing hopes of becoming a Chunin, or to leave and have the opportunity to return and try again. The point of this question was to prove how confident you are. Will you continue down the road toward your goal, knowing that you might lose everything? Another test was hidden inside this question. I told you that you decision would not have an effect on your team. This, too, was a lie. Ninja work in teams. If one gives up, all gives up", he signaled two of the Chunin, who began reading aloud names of Genin who, because of a friend's decision, couldn't advance.

I exhaled deeply as I now knew that my name wouldn't be mentioned. As the Chunin folded the paper, which provided him with the names, the Jounin started to speak.

"Congratulations to you all. Don't think the rest of the tests will be equal to this one. This first trial was a test of your stealth skills, your mind, and last but not least… Your heart, your dedication to fulfill not only your mission but also your dream. The rest of the test however will require… sacrifice. Do yourself a favor and don't underestimate the danger of this exam", the Jounin inhaled, wishing to continue his speech but he was now interrupted by the sudden appearance of, judging by her arrogant attitude, another Jounin.

"I'll take it from here Ibiki", the female Jounin said without looking at him.

Ibiki looked furious but it seemed that there was nothing he could do about the rude interruption.

"Good luck", he mused, and for the first time feelings were interpretable from his facial expression. I might have been mistaken but he suddenly looked like a parent letting go of his children. For the first time I was a little worried about the dangers lying ahead for my friends and I.


End file.
